Something Wrong
by Mirrankei
Summary: After Jack leaves and comes back, something doesn't seem right about him. And it's driving everybody crazy. Written for espadas. J/O, J/I.


"You need to fix this."

"Fix what, Owen?" Gwen didn't look up. She was already elbow deep in paperwork, and if she acknowledged his whining, she'd just be stuck with more. Faking death records was her least favorite part of the job, but it had to be done, and she was currently on a roll.

"_That_," Owen reiterated, as if it were obvious.

Gwen glanced up to follow his waving. "The CCTV?"

"Jack," Owen said.

She looked at the screen more carefully. It was indeed showing the back of Jack's head, looking out over the water.

"So he's on the roof again," she said. "What does that matter? When is he not up there?"

"Exactly. He's sulking. He's been up there since we got here this morning, and he'll be up there until we go home. If it starts to rain, he'll lock himself in his office. He's not doing any bloody work, and he's barely done any since he got back at all. Fix it."

"Why do I have to fix it?" said Gwen. "I don't know how to fix it. Ask Ianto."

"I'm not having any part of this," Ianto said, making Gwen jump slightly. She hadn't heard him approach. He handed her a steaming mug. "I've been trying to get it out of him for a week already. You'll have to do it."

"Look, why do I have to deal with him? It's not my fault he's moping, is it?"

"No, but it's your job," Owen said. He sat on her desk, effectively blocking her access to her work. "That is what you were hired for."

"What, to babysit Jack?"

"He means because you're good with people," Ianto put in. He picked Owen's cup up from where he'd put it on the desk and handed it to him.

Owen obligingly took a sip. He glared over the rim, making it clear that he knew perfectly well when he was being shut up.

"We all know Jack hired you because you're good at diffusing situations peacefully; you're just the best person for the task right now," Ianto continued.

"But I –"

"Just go on, Gwen." Tosh sounded more annoyed than supportive; she didn't even look up from her computer monitor. "Owen's not going to let us get any work done until you try."

"He should be down here working with us, is all." Owen glowered over his coffee. "Give it a shot for us, love?"

Gwen sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Fine," she said angrily. She slammed her palms on her desk as she stood, leaning over to glare into Owen's face. "You can finish all this for me then."

As she stomped out towards the exit, Owen glanced half-heartedly at one of the papers she left behind. He snorted, put it back on the table, and skulked back to the medical bay.

Ianto rolled his eyes. He sat in Gwen's vacant chair, helped himself to her abandoned coffee, and started work.

* * *

Jack was standing right on the edge of the roof; precisely where Gwen's comfort level plummeted to nothing. She stood behind him for a moment, unsure how to proceed.

He made an impressive image, even (or especially) from behind. His coat billowed behind him like a cape, his shadow long and dark behind him. Cast against the overcast sky, he looked like a superhero surveying his city, ever alert for danger.

"He's just moping," said Owen's voice in her ear. "Hurry up and talk him out of it."

Gwen frowned. She glanced behind her and upwards. The lens of the CCTV wiggled back and forth like it was waving.

"Don't worry, Jack can't hear us," Tosh said.

"He hasn't had his earphone on in weeks, except when we're on the field." Ianto sounded particularly displeased by this. "It's impossible to reach him sometimes."

Gwen rolled her eyes and deliberately removed her own earpiece. The camera didn't react, but she made a face at it anyway.

"Jack!" she called, a little too cheerfully.

He turned around, apparently surprised to see her. That was a little worrisome; he was normally very hard to sneak up on. Now that she knew to look for the signs, she could see how tired he looked. His smile seemed forced.

"Gwen," he acknowledged. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah," Gwen answered. She hesitated, not sure of how to continue. This was all so awkward. "Just wanted some fresh air."

"Mm." Jack turned back to the city below him.

Gwen joined him on the edge, reluctantly. "How about you? You alright?"

"Same as usual." He took a deep breath, eyes closed. His smile softened into something more natural. "I'm just enjoying how open it is up here. Sometimes it's just a little too stuffy down there. Claustrophobic. It's great to just go feel the weather."

"Sure," Gwen said, uncertain. She paused again, wondering if it would be prudent to point out that he never felt claustrophobic before he left. "Only you've been coming up here for hours every day, and there's a big pile of papers on your desk that looks about ready to collapse at any moment."

Jack raised an eyebrow at her. "Are you trying to imply something, Cooper?"

"No, I'm telling you to come downstairs and do some work before your desk buckles under the weight."

Jack laughed. "Oh, so you're giving me orders now, huh?"

"Someone has to. You haven't been."

If Jack caught the accusation in her voice, he didn't show it. He just grinned roguishly before giving her a sharp salute. "Yes _ma'am!"_

"Jack..." she stopped, not really happy with the sudden shift in demeanor. It all seemed forced. He was just brushing her off again, joking like he had when they had first met, before she'd even heard of Torchwood. "Why did you leave?"

Jack's fake-looking smile was still frozen on his face. "I told you," he said. "I had to go. I had to see my Doctor again. I might not have gotten another chance."

"I know," Gwen said, frustrated. "But –"

"Hey, you did great, even without me, right? You in particular, Gwen, you really found your sweet spot here."

"No," Gwen said quietly, but Jack was already swaggering back to the door. Conversation over. Whatever his problem was, it wasn't something _she_ could solve; so much for why they'd hired her.

She took another glance at the security camera, shrugged at it, and followed behind.

* * *

Hours later, Gwen found herself with Owen on her desk again. The intrusion was more welcome this time; she joined him, pushing aside some papers, and they both stared up at Jack's office.

"Well, he's working now," said Gwen, exasperated. She'd been watching for something different to happen all day, but it wasn't coming.

"It's _all_ he's doing," Owen said. "It's no better than it was this morning. Has he said more than two words to anyone since you talked to him on the roof?"

"I think he thanked Ianto for the coffee." Her own attempts to strike up conversation with Jack just led to more accidental headbutting and unpleasant silences. She'd given up trying, and the others hadn't had much better luck.

Owen scoffed. "It's just a different kind of sulking."

"I wouldn't think you cared that much, Owen."

"It's not healthy," he said. "It's part of my job to notice when someone's health is affecting their work, and he's definitely affected."

"You think he's sick?"

"Jack doesn't get sick. Whatever's wrong with him, it's not something I can fix. I'm not that kind of doctor. I don't do the therapist holding hands touchy-feely stuff."

"Oh, I don't know." Gwen smiled and nudged him with her elbow. "You helped me a lot back when I was having trouble adjusting to all this."

"Gwen." Owen looked at her with a strange mixture of disgust and amused disbelief. "You do recall _how_ I 'helped' you back then. I'm not doing that with Jack."

Gwen flushed a tiny bit, but her grin remained. "I don't think he'd have any objections."

"I'm pretty sure Ianto would." Almost as an afterthought, he added, "And I do."

Gwen shook her head and hopped off the desk. "Do what you want, Owen. _I'm_ going home. I've already been home late four times this week, and it's only Thursday." She patted him on the shoulder as she passed, gathered her things, and left for home.

* * *

In his office, Jack looked up at the sound of the door's siren. He watched Gwen leave, then looked down at Tosh, still at her desk, and Ianto, doing something in the meeting room that involved a lot of wires and a somewhat worrisome whisp of smoke. The medical bay was... empty. While that wasn't too unusual – as Owen was just as likely to be in the men's room or napping on the couch or slacking off anywhere, really – Jack found himself scanning the lower level almost frantically, his heart pounding and his fists clenched.

The door to Jack's office opened loudly and suddenly. Owen glowered at Jack like he'd done something unforgivable.

Jack straightened some of the papers scattered in front of him. "Something wrong Owen?" he asked calmly.

"Yes." Owen let the door drop and stomped in to slam his palms on Jack's desk. "I'm going to a pub."

"Fine," Jack said. "Be here at seven tomorrow."

"You're coming," said Owen. "You're _paying_. I'm going to get pissed."

Jack raised an eyebrow. "Do I get a say in this?"

"No. Five minutes."

It was actually closer to half an hour. Jack had stopped to send both Tosh and Ianto home first. This garnered confusion from the former, used to working late into the night whether anyone else was there or not, and some guarded suspicion from the latter.

He would have to deal with them tomorrow, however. Tonight, Owen was impatient and angry for whatever reason, and he had to deal with that first.

It was one of Owen's usual bars – _not_ Jack's cup of tea – too dark to see more than vague shapes, dancing that more resembled attempted murder, and music so loud it felt like somebody was drumming against the inside of your skull.

Jack had a scotch, just to humor Owen. Owen ordered three of something Jack couldn't make out over the music and drank them all in rapid succession.

"What the hell is the matter with you?"

"What?"

"Don't – don't pretend you can't hear me, I said _what the hell is wrong with you?" _Owen scowled and waved at the bartender for another round. "I don't know what's going on with you, but it's pissing me off. You – you can't just do that, not after you _just_ came back. You're freaking us all out."

"I still can't hear you," Jack said, shrugging innocently. "The drums are driving me crazy."

"You're a twat, Harkness!" Owen shouted.

Jack laughed in agreement. He finished his first drink and reached for the second. Owen scowled and matched him with his own.

* * *

"The thing is, you screwed us all over," Owen said later. His walk was a little off, but otherwise he didn't show much sign of how drunk he really was. Jack walked about two steps behind him, enjoying the show. "You got us all wrapped up in this whole fucking alien thing in the first place."

"You saying you want to quit?"

"_No,_" Owen said vehemently. "_You're_ the one who took off. You're the one that left us with no fucking idea what we're doing. "

Jack didn't say anything. Owen didn't seem to notice, as he kept talking, though more to his own shoes or up at the sky than actually to Jack himself.

"And then you just show up again, like nothing even changed! Everything fucking changed, Jack, you left us at the _worst_ possible moment. Tosh's our most senior officer, but she had no idea what she was doing – we almost lost her, you know that? She didn't almost die, we literally _lost_ her, for two days. And I can't lead for shit, I can't deal with everyone for that long, even if they weren't thinking I might shoot someone again. Ianto didn't even try, he just bullied the rest of us into it and sulked. _Gwen_ had to take charge, and she still doesn't even hold her gun properly, you made our _rookie_ into _you_. You fucked us all up by leaving, and we pretty much _broke_. Why'd you even come back, anyway?"

Owen stopped and stared into Jack's eyes. He did look broken, swaying slightly, his eyes struggling to focus.

Jack smiled again. "I would never leave you guys for real," he said. He reached out for the back of Owen's head and ruffled his hair before pulling him in for a hug.

Owen let him. "Next time hire a fucking pet-sitter," he said, muffled.

Jack laughed. "What do you mean? Couldn't handle the pterodactyl without me?"

"'s all we are to you, isn't it? Like pets. Last a little while and you care about them, but it's not that hard to leave since they wouldn't understand anyway. And they all die before you get old."

Jack stopped again. He ran his hands through Owen's hair absently, looking up at the sky. "It's not like that at all, Owen."

"It sure seems like it sometimes. You left us to go with your _real_ friends, your equals. That Doctor. And you thought about going with that Hart guy too."

"Not even for a second," said Jack. "And I came back."

"And then you're leaving again." Owen pushed away from him abruptly. He stuck his hands in his pockets and made as if to leave himself.

"I'm not," Jack said, jogging to catch up.

"Then stop fucking acting like you are. You're making us all miserable."

Jack smiled again, but didn't bother answering. He grabbed Owen's arm instead, and pulled him around so they were face to face before leaning in to kiss him. Owen tensed up noticeably but didn't pull away. Jack massaged his jaw gently with his thumb, making sure to be thorough before breaking away.

"Go home, Owen," he said. "I promise I'll still be here tomorrow."

* * *

The sun had barely risen when Tosh got in. The tourist office was empty, unsurprisingly. If Ianto were here already, he'd be downstairs with Jack, and if he wasn't, he was likely sleeping in as he'd said he would.

Still, they hadn't accounted for the rain when they'd discussed the day's plan last night, and the added burden of her umbrella and coat made it rather difficult to reach the switch to open the door.

"Jack?" she called, in the dim hope he maybe was standing right outside the door or was listening in through one of the surveillance bugs.

The door remained firmly shut and she cursed under her breath. The desk showed none of Ianto's trademark neatness. There didn't seem to be a square inch not covered with pamphlets and tchotchkes, and Toshiko's arms were far too full to even clear any of it off.

She stared hopelessly at the desk. The floor was... Not as messy, but seriously filthy. She made a face. They really ought to take better care of this place. There hadn't been time with just the four of them, and after that, they'd just forgotten.

The only place left was the chair. It wouldn't fit much, but maybe if she could just lose the coffee...

The wall opened with its usual fanfare. Jack yawned as he exited, stretching his arms above his head. He wasn't really dressed for the weather, having just thrown a light jacket on over what he'd slept in.

He stopped in the open doorway, treated to a back view of Toshiko leaning awkwardly over the chair in a short skirt. He spent a short moment in stunned surprise. "Is it my birthday?"

Tosh froze. She debated being offended or flattered. She settled on a sigh. "Just help me with these pastries, Jack?"

The meeting room table was not cluttered when they arrived, but the armful of pastries was still enough to fill half of it. Jack sat on the far end, across from Toshiko, munching on a bear claw while she sipped her coffee.

"So what's the occasion?"

"Oh, nothing really," said Tosh. "Just felt like we could all use a good breakfast every so often."

"Sure, but this is nothing but sugar."

"I said 'good,' not 'healthy.'"

Jack raised his cup to that. "Two coffees, though. And just my flavor."

"Well, I didn't think anyone else would be in this early." Tosh fiddled with her cup, not really looking at Jack. "And I wanted to thank you."

"Fer what?" said Jack, his mouth full of pastry.

"For coming back, I suppose." She still didn't look up. "I missed you."

Jack swallowed his mouthful, no longer really surprised where these conversations were leading. "You're probably the only one, then. Everyone else thinks I'm crazy or is pissed off. Or both."

"They're just worried," Tosh said quietly.

"About what?"

Tosh finally looked up at Jack. "You've been acting differently since you came back. Not at first, but after those first couple days, we hardly heard from you. It's like you were a different person."

"We all change, Tosh."

"You don't."

"I _have. _Being immortal doesn't make me immune to time. Experience makes up a lot of who you are."

"Then being with the Doctor changed who you were?"

"Something did." Jack sighed. He was copying Toshiko's earlier pose, staring down into his coffee, avoiding her eyes. With a slight shudder, he brought himself out of it and looked back at her. "Do you think you changed?"

"When? After you left?" She frowned. "I suppose, a bit."

"After UNIT."

Tosh flinched in surprise. "I – yes, of course I did."

"The way you look at the world, how you feel about the people around you. It's all different. You can't tell if you love it or if you're terrified of it, and you're stuck between hiding away from it all or trying your hardest to keep it close to you in case it's taken away again."

"Exactly." Tosh stared at him, horrified. "Is that what happened to you?"

"Something happened," he said simply. He smiled at her and took another pastry. "Thanks for breakfast."

She watched him go, thoroughly unsettled.

* * *

Jack spent the rest of the day in a better mood than he'd felt in weeks. It was quiet in the Hub, but there was enough of a backlog of tasks to keep him pleasantly busy – he really _had_ been slacking off since he got back, without noticing. He hummed to himself all day, sorting rift jetsam, filing paperwork, and making the rounds about the Hub.

Nobody else seemed to share his mood. Gwen avoided his eyes, just half-smiling when she failed at this. Owen stumbled in late, hungover and scowling at everybody whenever approached with anything that wasn't coffee or one of the pastries. Tosh stayed hunkered at her desk, head down, eating cinnamon twists and similarly subdued.

None of them spoke to Jack unless forced. To each other, it was only in short, hushed bursts inaudible to anyone else, or calls for more coffee.

Ianto alone seemed unfazed. He went about with his usual professionalism, immune to the seemingly contagious silent treatment, and kept busy out of sight in the archives only to appear out of nowhere with a smirk and a refill whenever anyone ran out of beverage.

It didn't surprise Jack much when he appeared at his office door late into the day, no coffee in sight.

"Ianto," Jack greeted, grateful for the interruption. He leaned back in his chair, stretching. "How's it going?"

"Fine, sir," Ianto said, closing the door behind him. "How are you?"

"Never been better," he said, grinning. "Seriously. Feel like a million bucks. Thanks for asking. What's on your mind?"

"Not much, sir," said Ianto. "Just bringing up some of the records you were asking for the other day. Oh, and a woman from UNIT left a message for you, something about an unofficial visitation."

"Thanks," said Jack, frowning at the new stack of neatly stapled papers Ianto was handing him. "That's good, I'll call her back tomorrow."

Ianto smiled lightly and turned as if to leave.

"Is that all?" Jack asked, stopping him.

"Was there something else, sir?"

"You're not going to ask what's been bugging me? Accuse me of abandoning you?"

"I wasn't planning on it, sir. I was under the impression you didn't want to talk about that sort of thing."

"I don't," Jack said. He leaned forward to rest his elbows on the desk. He smiled in defeat. "But everyone else's had a go."

"All right," said Ianto. He sat down opposite. "Where did you go, when you were gone?"

"End of the universe," said Jack. "Then... back here, which turned into the end of the world pretty quick."

"What happened?"

Jack shrugged. "Funny thing about time travel, sometimes whole stretches of time happen and then just don't. I was gone a few months, for you. It was a bit over a year for me."

"What happened?" Ianto repeated.

"We lost. People died. It was... it was torture, without you. Literally, in both cases; chains and guards and interrogations, and you all died."

"Shit."

"Yeah," Jack agreed. He was still smiling, in spite of his words, somewhat wistfully. "I spent all that time thinking how all I wanted was to be back home, here, with all of you. Didn't seem like it would be possible at the time. Coming back here and having it all be the same... it was surreal. I guess I've just been having trouble adjusting – I keep worrying one of you's been killed again, dwelling on how it all could have been avoided if I hadn't left in the first place, suddenly feeling like I'm back in that boiler room..." He trailed off. "That enough of an answer for you, or did you want the details?"

"It's enough, sir," said Ianto. He made a short motion with his hand, like he was going to gesture but thought better of it, and settled on reaching out to cover Jack's hand on the desk.

Jack grasped Ianto's hand back. "So then, now that that's all in the open, what about you?"

"Me, sir?"

"Something's been bothering you, and you haven't been glaring at me when you think I'm not looking or walking on eggshells around me, so it's none of that stuff we just covered. You just look disappointed. What's going on?"

"Oh," Ianto said. He stalled for a moment, evidently embarrassed, but settled back in his chair. "You promised me a date."

"Oh," Jack echoed. "Oh! Is that all?"

"That's all," Ianto confirmed. His voice turned just the slightest bit more icy. "It was three weeks ago that you asked."

"Right."

"And since then, you've hardly even looked at me, and we haven't done _anything_. Probably from... all of the above."

"Yeah," Jack agreed. "Well, we should probably start making up for lost time, then. Where do you want to go?"

"I don't want to go _now_," Ianto said simply. "It doesn't work like that."

"Okay, then how about we stay in and eat donuts all night and watch a DVD?"

"That sounds better."

"Fantastic," Jack said, his grin wide and honest, as well as hungry for something that probably wasn't limited to donuts. He thought for a moment. "Oh, if we're trying the dating thing now, I guess I should tell you; I kissed Owen last night."

"Oh," said Ianto.

"I don't think he remembers though."

"Oh," Ianto said again. He seemed frozen, staring at nothing. Except for some muffled talking from downstairs, the room was abnormally silent. He made a face after a moment, then shook his head slightly and looked back at Jack. "Would that be from liberal amounts of alcohol or a small drop of Retcon, then?"

"Denial, mostly, I think." Jack smiled lasciviously. "Don't worry, he deserved it at the time."

"I'm sure."

Jack climbed halfway over the desk and reached up to fondle Ianto's hair. Ianto allowed it, smiling back but not _quite_ responding when Jack leaned in close to his face.

"Well, even if it's not a real date by your standards, I think maybe it's time to call it a night in the office and get started settling in, what do you think?"

"I think that's a good idea, Jack."

"Good," Jack said firmly. He pulled Ianto's face close, indulging in a long kiss that left Ianto panting lightly and pliant in his arms. Jack pulled slightly away, moving Ianto's head so he could talk quietly right into his ear.

"Show's over, kids. Unless you three are planning on coming up here and joining us," he said, "I suggest you all head home."

There was a slight pause. Ianto flinched slightly as a short stream of abuse was shouted at Jack through his earpiece, echoing the muffled voices they both heard from downstairs. This was followed by laughter, brief scuffling, and finally a mixed chorus of "You're a twat," "Good night, boys!" and, quietly through the small speaker, "Thank you for telling us, Jack."

The siren downstairs signaled the others' departure. Jack pulled back again to look at Ianto, who sat calmly, unashamed and smirking back at him.

"I am feeling much better, though," Jack said. "Remind me to figure out a way to thank them too, tomorrow."

He pulled the earphone from Ianto's hair and tossed it to the floor.


End file.
